ESPN’s Monday Night Football kicked off with a new music video featuring Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana reimagining Phil Collins’ iconic “In the Air Tonight”. The broadcast of the New Orleans Saints vs. the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers followed the clip. This new music video will now be a regular feature before all Monday Night Football games, as well as ESPN’s Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, Super Wild Card, and its first Divisional playoff game.
“It was fascinating to me to see how one song could get you in that mode to go kick some tail,” said Hines Ward from the Pittsburgh Steelers in an ESPN feature on the song. He was followed by Terry McLaurin from the Washington Commanders, who added, “I don’t care if you are the home team, the away team, you are hearing that song no matter what [before the game].”
“In the Air Tonight” was initially released as part of Phil Collins’ debut solo album, Face Value, in 1981. The song reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and gained popularity after being featured on the hit TV show Miami Vice. It was also included on the Miami Vice soundtrack, which topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks in 1985-86.
Apart from the reimagined “In the Air Tonight,” this season of Monday Night Football will also feature music curated by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. The superstar duo will contribute their curated music to Monday Night Football promotional spots, live telecasts, and pre-game shows for seven weeks this season.
Fans can watch a preview of the new “In the Air Tonight” music video below.